


Cat Ears

by Emi_Angelo (orphan_account)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Almost all of the HP cast, Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, F/M, M/M, Mean and cruel Harry, Multi, Original villain - Freeform, Slight Dumbledore Bashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-10-25
Packaged: 2018-12-22 15:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11970549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Emi_Angelo
Summary: Iris Hepley gets her letter... and is promptly kicked out of her house. McGonagall takes her to Diagon Alley, and she checks everything out and gets way too many books. Meanwhile, Harry is a prick with living parents and Draco has not changed much, except for his friendliness. He tries for her, though. Somehow, this basic-ness becomes complicated when I write more.





	1. The Letter, Gringotts, Diagon Alley, and the Inn

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fully written out fanfic. I would appreciate comments and feedback.

I stare as the owl flutters down to my bed. It hops over to me, and I decide to do something that will likely end up with me being scratched into oblivion. I hold out my arm for it to perch on. It actually floops onto my arm, and I scratch it's floof for a minute. I hear this weird sound, a bit like crunching glass.

Wait. Don't tell me that's it's purr!

I trace it's legs, which are currently hooked into my arm. Then I feel this smooth and cool cylinder. I look at it, figuring that it's supposed to be unhooked, and take it off of the poor owl. I pop open the container, and I see the letter unfurl, straighten, and grow in size. I look at the back, and it has my address on it with no return address. I open it, sensing that I was supposed to.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL 

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Hepley,

        We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. 

        Term begins on September 1. We expect your owl by no later than July 31.

         Yours Sincerely,

         Minerva McGonagall

 

I close the letter after reading it, and then I see an adorable tabby cat stalking the front of my house, like there was something inside that she wanted to get. I look away, and hear the doorbell ring.

Then my adoptive parents walk down the creaky stairs, and open the door. By then I've exited my attic room, and I can clearly see the grandmotherly-looking woman dressed in a strange green gown standing in the doorway. I look at my hands, realizing that I still had the letter in my hands. 

"Hello. I am Minerva McGonagall, and I have come to inform your daughter of the private boarding school of magic she will be going to, if so inclined." the lady says, smiling at me when she sees me peeking around the wall. "What do you mean, magic? How dare you bring such assumptions into our home!" Father roars, and Mother looks horrified.

"Iris, would you care to come here? It's of no use to hide behind the wall." I nod to that, and slowly remove myself from my hiding place. "She will be coming to the school, correct? It is of no cost to you, and she will be spending the entire school year at the school, with her being able to return over the winter holidays."

"She can go to that horrid school, but don't expect us to pay for anything, nor shall we support her at all. After all, we only took her in because it was expected of us." I stare, not really surprised at this. "How dare you! Iris, come along now, you shall come with me to get your supplies, and I will explain everything to you as we go. Please follow me." She demands while masking it as a request. I hesitantly look back at Mother and Father, only to find them glaring at me. Then I step out of the doorway, and once I'm out of the way, they slam the door shut.

I jump, startled at the sudden banging noise, and McGonagall looks back at me, worried. "M-my name is Iris W-willow Hepley. S-sorry if I am inconveniencing you in any w-way." I stutter out, shrinking into myself as I am scrutinized.

"It's no problem," she says, smiling warmly down at me. "This is my job, and you're better than most of the muggle borns I escort to Diagon Alley." "What's a m-muggle? And what exactly in c-continuation of the p-previous question is a m-muggle born?" I ask, and she blinks a bit, not quite expecting the onslaught of words that erupted out of my inquisitive mouth. "I'm s-sorry about that. Mother and Father a-always say that I ask t-too many questions. Could I p-possibly call you Minnie?" I ask her another question, and she opens her mouth to reply. "Muggles are people who can not use magic, and a muggle born is a magic user who is born of muggles. And yes, you may call me Minnie." Minnie finishes, and I smile a bit at all of the new information.

"Where will I get the m-money to b-buy all of my s-stuff?" I ask as Mother and Father had basically disowned me back there, and I doubt that they would pay for my things after that debacle. I wish they wouldn't leave me so. "We searched up your family history, knowing that something like this would probably happen, and it turns out that you have quite the inheritance! I assure you that it will all be taken care of. If you like, you could have it all transferred into wizarding money, or you could only transfer what you need at the moment into Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. I suggest just splitting it half and half. There are 17 Sickles in a Galleon, and 29 Knuts in a Sickle. A Galleons is worth about 200 dollars, a Sickle is worth about 12 dollars, and a Knut is worth about fifty cents. Dumbledore arranged so that you have a vault registered in Gingotts. When we speak to the goblin in charge of your vault, they will explain about your parent's wealth.

She suddenly stops walking down the sidewalk on the road, and veers off into the park. I quickly follow her, but trip over a tree root. "Meoomph!" I make my startled noise, and Minnie looks back at me, amused. She walks back to me and helps me up, brushing me off. "Grab onto my arm," she says, and I do as instructed. "Now, close your eyes and breathe evenly." I close my eyes, and get my breathing pattern down.

Then I feel like I'm being sucked through small pipes and stretched and bent. Then it suddenly stops. "You can open your eyes now, Iris." Minnie says, and my legs turn to jelly. I throw my arms around her waist and hips to keep standing, and she pets my hair as I slowly start to stand on my own. "S-sorry about that, I j-just couldn't s-support myself a-after that." I apologize, looking up from my position that has my head hurried into her stomach. The actual stomach, not the intestines. I'm not that short. She just smiles kindly at me. "It's fine. Most people heave up their last meal on their first time. You did extremely well." "Minnie, c-can I do this a-again? H-hugging, I mean. I n-never really got h-hugs before this, so it's a n-nice feeling to h-have..." I trial off, uncertain. "Of course you can.

"Now, we have to go to Gringotts." she motions with her hands towards a street paved with what looks like cobblestone. I nod, and we walk along the street towards the gigantic building that looks like a gigantic castle turret. "I-is that Gringotts?" I ask Minnie, all the while taking in the many sights and sounds. "Yes, it is." We enter the building, but I tug on her dress, and she stops. "What is it?" "M-minnie, can I w-wait a moment to read the p-poem on the p-plaque?" I ask, and she nods, smiling slightly. "Of course."

Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed  
For those who take, but do not earn  
Must pay most dearly in their turn  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there.

"It has a compulsion charm on it. It is also rumored that there are dragons guarding the more high security vaults." Minnie says, and I nod, committing that to memory. "Come on now. Let's go. I'll handle the business transaction, but I need you to stay right next to me, okay?" "O-okay, I will." I say, and I grab a little bundle of cloth on her pretty green dress. "It's so p-pretty..." I mumble, and Minnie smiles down at me again. We walk past the goblins, right up to what looks like the head goblin. 

Minnie gives a half bow, saying, "May your riches overflow; and your enemies cower at you feet." I quickly copy her, bowing slightly. "M-may your riches overflow; and y-your enemies c-cower at your feet." I say, stumbling over my words again because of nervousness. The goblin smiles at us, and I step back behind Minnie's skirts again. I hide behind her, and clutch her dress. I look at the other goblins some more, some of whom were staring at us. One of them actually dropped a ruby he was working on. I look around the room, staring at the gorgeous intricate golden designs.

"Iris, it's time to go now." Minnie says, startling me. I jump at the sound of her voice, and quickly nod. "Let's go to Madam Malkin's first, to get your robes." Minnie says, and we briskly walk to the shop. Meaning she walks at a moderately fast pace, while I trip, fall, get back up, catch up to her, and repeat the process. "Iris, of you want me to slow down, just say so." Minnie says, smiling slightly at my antics. "N-no, it's fine. I r-really appreciate e-everything you're d-doing for m-me, so I can't a-ask much m-more of you." Minnie stopped suddenly. "I'm doing this job because I have to, but I'm doing it like this because I want to. I am not supposed to pick favorites, but even if you don't end up in my house, you are welcome any time that you would like." I nod again, hanging my head slightly.

She pats my head, and I look up, surprised. "Come on then, we have some robes to fit you with." I smile brightly after that, and she leads me to the shop. "While you're in the shop, I have something to go get. Stay here until I get back, don't wander off. I should be back in time to give you an opinion on how you look." I nod dutifully, and she leads me into the shop, then leaves.

The small woman smiles at me, and leads me towards the back of the shop. "Stand here, dearie, while I take your measurements. Are you going to Hogwarts?" she asks, and I nod yes. "Funny, there were two young men who were going to Hogwarts too. They just left a moment ago." she continues talking as she fixes the measurements for my robes. I hear the door bell ring, and I look up with hope. "I-is it Minnie?" I ask, and she nods. "Professor McGonagall, you may come back here!" Madam Malkin yells at her, and Minnie walks back here. "It suits you. The black robes, I mean." I smile brightly at her for the compliment. "Thank y-you, M-minnie!" I say, and Minnie smiles at me. "Alright dearie, you're all done. I will see you next year." she says, and we get shooed out of her shop. 

"Come on iris, let's go get your books." Minnie says, and I nod again. Once we get to the bookstore, we split up, and each get half of the books that are required. Well, I get a few more than that. "Iris, that one isn't on the list. Neither are those other five ones. Well, I suppose it can't be helped. We'll get them," she says, sighing. "But you don't need that for my class until second year. And that one for third... did you get two years ahead on all of the subjects?" Minnie asks me, and I look up, nodding slowly. "Okay, read ahead. But just so you know, we still have two more stops. Let's go get all of the potion supplies first, and then we can get your wand. Then we can stop at an inn and take a nap. You're technically my last muggle born, so I am free until school starts. Let us go now." Minnie commands, and I nod eagerly.

I had also done some browsing, and I was really looking forward to Potions. It seemed to be a really interesting topic overall. I can't wait for the school year to start! I follow Minnie as I daze off into my mind, then I bump into some one. "Watch it, girl!" A boy my age barks at me. "Hmm. Muggle clothes. Must be a piece of mudblood trash." "Y-yes I am a m-muggle born." I say, cowering in front of him. "Best remember this name well. For I will make your life hell if you ever cross me in Hogwarts. The name to remember is Harry Potter." he announces, then flaunts away. I see a platinum blonde boy staring at me, and I flinch under his gaze. His eyes widen in understanding, and he looks away.

I turn around to see Minnie storming towards me. "Iris Willow Hepley! How dare you make me worry! I didn't see you and I thought the worst!" Minnie snaps at me, and I flinch a bit. "What is your excuse?!" She shrills at me, and I mumble what happened quietly. She calms down once she hears what happened, but she grew angry again when I described Potter's actions towards me. "That little brat. I can't believe him!" Minnie exclaims, drawing a smile onto my face.

"Well, what's done is done. Come now, we have to go get your potion ingredients, and this time, try not to ram someone over." I nod, and laugh at that last part. We hurry through the shop, and split up yet again. I find some interesting ingredients, and a couple of Potion books that sound intriguing, and I get them as well. When Minnie sees them, she gives me the same look that she did earlier in the book shop. "It will be a miracle if you don't get into Ravenclaw." she remarks wryly, and I smile questionably. "Its the house know for their book smarts," she explains, and I nod, understanding her explanation. "Gryffindor is for the brave, Slytherin for the cunning, and Hufflepuff for the loyal." she further explains, and I nod whilst soaking up the knowledge. 

"Now for the last shop. Ollivander's. This might take a minute." Minnie says, and we walk towards what looks like a shop full of small boxes. Maybe the wands are in there. We enter the shop, and the tinkling bell above the door rings. Loudly. We walk up to the counter, and Ollivander pops up from behind the counter. "Hello, Iris, I believe. Ah, I just can't wait to match you up! Raise your wand arm." he says, and I raise my right arm, hesitant. Then all of a sudden, measuring thing fly at me, and start to measure me up. "Willow will be the best choice, but I will take a minute to find one with a core, length and resistance to match you. Let me go get the ones that I think will act best towards you!" he says excitedly, and I look towards Minnie, worried slightly. "It'll be fine. Just wave the wands that he brings back, and relax a bit." she says, calming me down quite a bit.

"Ah! Here they are. Try this one first." he motions for me to take the wand, and I give it a slight wave. Let's just say that Ollivander ended up with a new haircut. "No, okay then. Try this one." he says, handing me another one. It's longer this time. I wave this one, and this time it looks like someone dressed him into a clown suit. "Okay then. Next one! Third time's the charm!" he says, handing me what I hope will be the last wand. I wave it, and this time, instead if giving Ollivander even more of a makeover, it produces red sparks from the tip of the wand.

"Ah, 10 1/2 Willow, with a core of White River Monster Spine,  somewhat flexible and more than the average snappiness. I look forward to hearing about the things you do in this world, Miss Hepley, and I do hope you won't completely forget about yourself in the process." Ollivander says, creeping me out slightly. "M-minnie, can w-we leave n-now?" I ask, and she nods, glaring at him all the while. 

We exit the shop, and I happily skip along. "Be careful Iris, make sure not to trip yourself up." As soon as she finishes saying that, my foot gets caught on a rock. I don't really care, and get up. I start humming a song that I always loved listening to when it came on the radio. Then I decide to just sing it. "Every morning there's a halo hanging from the corner of my girlfriend's four post bed. I know it's not mine but I'll see that I can use it for a weekend or a one night stand." Minnie looks at me, and I stop singing in public. For now. "You have a lovely singing voice, but I can't say that I've heard that song before." she compliments, and I smile. "Thank y-you, and it's a m-muggle s-song. It's by Sugar R-ray. I l-love their s-songs, the singer has an a-amazing v-voice." I say, glowing as I talk about one of my favorite bands. "I will have to check that band out sometime." she says, and I ask where we're going. "I know of this lovely little inn that I stay at when I have to. Come on, it's just down this road." she draws me out, and we walk alongside the road. 

After what feels like an hour, we finally make it to this adorable little Victorian style house, with blue being the main color. Light blue, to be exact. "It's so b-beautiful..." I whisper to myself, and Minnie nods. "I know." We enter through the French Doors, and to to check in at the counter. "One room, please. Preferably two beds." Minnie says, and we get our room and go. I immediately hop into the shower, washing my hair and body thoroughly. I step out of the shower, and wrap myself in the big fluffy towels provided. I find Minnie summoning all of my things from my old house. "Thanks Minnie. I-I'm going to go b-back into the b-bathroom and get ch-changed, but y-you can shower in a s-sec." I inform her, then grab my favorite pair of jammies, and go get changed. I love my adorable blue with white polka dot pants and the cream top with the pug in an adorable hat with tassels and elbow patches matching the pants. It's so soft and fluffy. I brush my teeth, and promptly pass out on the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

We stayed at the inn for quite a few days, and then we went to the platform 9 3/4 with all of our luggage

"You just walk in through the wall. I do not suggest running, even if you are nervous, because you are likely to run someone over. Also, you know the business I had to take care of when you were getting fitted for your robes? Well, I will tell you what it is after you are sorted. Whoever is your head of house will be informing you. Come on, I will go through with you." Minnie says, talking about as much as I usually do. I nod, and grab onto Minnie's hand. We walk in step with each other and go through the wall. Once we start going through, a bright light flashes. I am lead off by Minnie, still blinking in shock and hurt, for my poor eyes still hadn't adjusted.

I look around, my eyes adjusting for me, and take in all of the people. Minnie, still holding my hand, leads me through the crowd to the big red train. I stumble a bit, and Minnie stops so I don't fall down. I right myself, and we continue on. There are quite a few families. Yeesh. She leads me onto the train, and we separate our hands. I follow her, and she leads me to the carriages way up front. "If you would like, you maybe you could stay with me until all of the professors get into this part of the carriages." Minnie says, and I nod happily. "I d-don't want to l-leave y-you, though." I say quietly, and she smiles gently and smooths my hair down. "I'm sure that you'll be fine." Minnie assures me, and I nod, accepting my miserable fate. The door opens, and a tall man in robes with black hair walks in. "I see you have a small first year with you, Minerva. What is she doing here?" he asks, and I shrink into her side from where I'm sitting.

"Severus, this is Iris. She seemed to be very entranced with a potion book when she was in the Inn room with me. Talk to her about it." Minnie commands, and Severus looks down at me with interest. "Ms. Iris, what is it that you find so interesting about Potions?" "Sir, I f-find the entire subject to be i-interesting, as I have a-always loved cooking a-and the like, and it seems to be the m-magical, entrancing v-version. I am hoping to l-learn it too the b-best of my abilities, and I h-hope to master the a-art of it. I a-also have a-always loved creating something o-out of o-other items." I say, hoping that I didn't give a horrible and/or terrible answer. A faint smile appears upon his face, and he starts to quiz me. "What do you get when you add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" "S-sir, you w-would get the Draught of Living D-death." "Very good, Ms. Iris. And in what place would one look if searching for a bezoar?" "It is a s-stone taken from the s-stomach of a g-goat, and will s-save you from most p-poisons." I answer again, a little more confident with my answer. "And for the final question, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfbane?" "They're the s-same thing. It is a-also know as a-aconite." he nods, his smile even more apparent. "I see that I won't have a class completely full of dunderheads this year. How absolutely delightful." Severus says, and Minnie starts to smile as well.

"Though it's unlikely that she will end up in either of our houses, it will be a honest to God relief to teach her." Minnie says, and Severus replies with, "I couldn't agree more." I really hope that I get into either Minnie's house or Severus's house. I have no idea what the other teachers are like. "She has already started to read ahead two years. Meaning she might very well be in advanced classes come next year. If she does produce the talent that she is showing, I know that I'm definitely going to volunteer to tutor her ahead of the others so that she can participate in the classes with the year above her." Minnie says, and Severus nods in agreement. "But the thing is, she's almost as bad as Quirrell!" Minnie exclaims, and I blush a bit. "W-who's Quirrell? Minnie, is h-he also a s-student?" I ask, and Severus smirks when he heard me call Minnie by her nickname. "No, he's another professor. And if you're going to call me Minnie, make sure to call him Sevie. Or Sev. Whichever you decide." She says, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. I turn to Sevie, asking, "S-sevie, are you f-fine with this?" He looks defeated. "Fine, but only if you get into my house," he says, stopping for a moment. "And also if you do well in Potions."

"Yay! I g-get to c-call Severus S-sevie! And M-minerva Minnie!" I cheer, and suddenly someone else walks in. "Sevie? I see you're making new friends, Severus. My name is Pomona Sprout, head of the Hufflepuffs. You may call me Lisa." she says, addressing me. "My n-name is Iris. Lisa, w-why is that y-your nickname?" I ask her, and she smiles pleasantly. "It's because of my first name, Pomona. If you take off the P-O, you are left with Mona, which is the first part of the Mona Lisa." "O-oh, okay. So, who is the h-head of R-ravenclaw?" "That would be Filius Flitwick. He will be joining us shortly." "When he a-arrives, I will h-have to l-leave though." I say, saddened.

Right then, the door slides open to show a short man with a white beard. "Filius! Meet Iris, what do you want her to call you? And I mean a nickname." Lisa asks, and he sighs a bit. "As long as she passes my class, she can call me Lius." I beam at all of them, and Lisa appears to have a nosebleed. But she doesn't. Kind of like me when I have a fangirl moment. Minnie looks at me, and I realize the conditions for getting to stay with her. "Minnie, I d-don't want to l-leave." I protest, and she gives the look. "Fine," I say, wilting. "I'll g-go. May I l-leave my stuff h-here?" I ask, and she nods. "Bye, Minnie. B-bye Sevie. Bye L-lisa. A-and bye Lius. I can't w-wait to see you a-again in c-class!" I give Minnie a hug, and then exit the compartment. As I enter the hallway, I hear Minnie say 'Shut it, Severus...' and I assume it was to Sevie. I mean, there's only one Sevie.

Then I bump into the platinum blonde boy I saw at Diagon Alley. "S-sorry about that. I-I hope you are n-not injured." I stutter out, hoping that he doesn't have the same reaction as Potter did. "I'm sorry for being able to step in. I was about to, but my father called me back to him. It's fine that you bumped into me, you didn't break anything." he rushes out, slowing down a bit at the end. "I-it's fine about the P-potter thing." "If you want, you can come back to our compartment. Um, only if you want to though. Er, I suppose you'd rather be with your friends, though." he mumbles out the last part and I look up at him. "N-no, I would l-love to join y-you. I was sitting w-with Minnie, Sevie, Lisa, a-and Lius b-before, so I d-don't really h-have anyone else t-to sit w-with. I-I've never met a-anyone here b-before, so I d-don't really h-have any f-friends." I say quietly. "Then come with me to my apartment. I'm sure that the others won't mind," he says, smiling at me. "By the way, my name is Draco Malfoy. What's yours?" he asks, and I answer with, "Iris H-hepley. You're h-heir to the Malfoy l-lordship, aren't y-you." "Yes. I'm the oldest and only child, so it's pretty much confirmed. Come on then, let's go." he says, leading me to one of the middle compartments. He opens the door to show four people already in there.

"S-sorry if I'm inconveniencing y-you at all." "Don't worry about it. We can make room. I'm Pansy, this is Vince, this is Greg, and this is Theo." the only other girl says, smiling. "H-hi, I'm Iris. My last n-name is Hepley. I-I'm a muggle born though, so I apologize for trying to b-befriend members of the S-sacred 28." I say looking through my bangs, shrinking into myself shyly. "I suppose we could make an exception for you, darling," she says, pausing a moment to pull me by the wrist into the compartment. "I know I speak for all of us when I say that you are welcome into our group. Don't I?" Pansy says, slinging her arm across my shoulders as I sit between her and Draco. Everyone nods. "Call me Pan. Make sure to call the miffed blonde one over there Dray, Vincent prefers to be called Vince, Gregory prefers to be called Greg, and Theodore prefers Theo. So, now that you have all of our nicknames, tell us, what was your experience with getting your letter? We've always wondered what it's like for a mudblood when they get their letter."

"I-I kind of doubt mine was the u-usual experience when it comes down to it. Um, first I got my l-letter from an owl, then right as I read it, M-minnie showed up at my door, and told my adoptive p-parents about it. They k-kicked me out and d-disowned me, and Minnie and I went to D-diagon Alley. I got a ton of b-books on everything. I had to get a couple of b-bottomless bags to fit everything r-reasonably. Next we went to an inn for a c-couple of weeks, and I r-read up on a t-ton of stuff. Minnie s-stayed with me because I was her last s-student. Then we came here, and I m-met all of the house heads, and n-now I'm with all of y-you." I tell them the summary of what had happened.

"Please, come to my manor over winter break. I will write to father about it. I'm sure he will eventually understand," Dray says, and I nod slowly. Then I feel the train start to move forward. I blindly grab onto Dray's arm as we move forward, and Pansy murmurs comforting things in my ear as I relax my vise-like grip on him. "S-sorry about that, I j-just can't s-stand m-moving vehicles." I whisper, and he nods. The other three people in the compartment are asleep, leaving only me, Dray, and Pan awake. Pan relaxes her head into my shoulder, and takes a nap there. "M-may I?" I motion towards his shoulder. "Sure." I put my head on his shoulder, burrowing myself into his side as I make sure not to disturb Pan. I wrap my arms around him, and slowly nod off to sleep.

I wake up to see a woman open the door, and start to say something. She stops, and smiles at all of us. The three boys on the other side were sprawled on each other, Pan was on my lap, I was still holding onto Dray, and he had wrapped his arms around me and had his head on mine. "So cute..." the woman gushed quietly, and closed the door and left.

I closed my eyes, and let sleep overtake me yet again.

"Darling, it's time to go get changed into our robes. Come on, get up. You too, Dray." Pan says to me, poking me awake. "But I'm comfy." I protest sleepily, and Dray hums in agreement. I snuggle into the warmth next to me, closing my eyes again. "Go 'way." Dray says, and I am suddenly ripped away from the warmth next to me. "Eh?!" Dray and I exclaim at the same time. "Darling, I hope we get the same room if we both end up in Slytherin, so I can wake you up like this every morning. I hope you get into Slytherin, since all of us want to be in Slytherin." Pan says, and I hope I get into Slytherin too, so I can call Sevie by his nickname.

I get up from the seat, and realize that the person I was snuggling with was Dray. He reaches that conclusion just as I do, and I blush lightly. "S-sorry about that." "It's fine. Now we all have to go get changed now. See you guys in a minute." Dray says, exiting the compartment. I follow Pan, who was exiting just after Dray. We go to the changing rooms, and she quickly changes. I do too, and we walk back to the compartment after that. Then suddenly, a voice could be heard throughout the train. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave you luggage on the train, as it will be taken to the school separately." I looked out of the window to see a purplish sky. "The s-sky is so p-pretty r-right now, check it o-out!" I say, and the five other people in the compartment try and look out of the window at the exact same time, making me giggle slightly. The train keeps slowing down, eventually stopping completely at a platform. We wait a bit of time before going out of the compartments, so we aren't completely swamped by the others. Mainly for my benefit, as I'm a good deal shorter than most people.

We step off of the train and onto the small platform. "It sure is dark out here," I here someone close to me remark quietly. "I-it really i-is." I say back, and the boy next to me stiffens a bit in surprise. "My name is Neville. Y-you can call me Nev if you like." He introduces himself, and I nod, giving him a small smile. "M-my name is Iris. I-it is quite d-dark out right n-now." He smiles back at me, and I hear a large booming voice. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A large lantern is held way up above us to show us where to go. "C'mon, follow me! Anymore firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!" We follow the glowing lantern, and I trip several times over. It sucks that I'm on a very steep and narrow path. I'm likely to trip off of it and get lost. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the voice says, coming from the direction of the lantern. "Is' jus' round the bend here."

Then we hear a loud "Oooooh!"

"N-nev, could I climb upon your b-back to see what a-all of the f-fuss is about?" "Sure," he says, and I hear a 'but' in his voice. "But be careful." I nod, and climb into his shoulders. Balancing with my knees somehow, I see a large black lake right ahead. I take in the castle perched on top of the mountains on the other side of the lake. "It has so many t-turrets and t-towers!" I exclaim, smiling. "Could you get off now? My back is really starting to hurt, even though you're really light." Nev asks, and I comply. Just jump off, falling into my butt. "Ow." I say, brushing off my robes. "No more 'n four to a boat!"

I hear shouts of 'Iris,' and 'Darling,' ring out. I quickly rush over there, dragging Nev along with me. I climb into a boat with Dray and Pan, and Nev jumps in with us. "This i-is Nev. I-is it a-alright if h-he joins us?" I ask Dray and Pan, and they nod. "Everybody in?" shouts the lantern voice, and no one says no. "Right then-FORWARD!!" The boats all move forward, across the glistening lake. Then, suddenly, something ripples next to us. A tentacle reaches out and grabs me out of the boat. I take a deep breath, and suddenly I'm underwater. I hear a against scream, and someone chanting a spell. I'm suddenly pulled out of the water, and there are arms grabbing me as I rise and fall back into the boat. "IRIS!!! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!?!" The three other people in my boat yell, and I see Dray holding his wand. "D-dray, thank y-you for s-saving me." "It's just that mother taught me how to this spell once I got this wand, in case of some thing like this happening to someone around me. You simply say 'Accio' and the name of what you want to come to you. So, Accio Iris." Dray explains, and we all nod, wide eyed.

"Ev'ry thing 'right back there?" the booming voice shouts. "A FEMALE STUDENT WAS ATTACKED BY A GIANT SQUID THERE SHALL BE REPERCUSSIONS!!!" Pan threatens sharply, and we can all tell that she was worried about me. A lot. "Is she fine?" he asks, and I mumble a yes. "She is bleeding from her arm being scraped across the boat when she was dragged overboard!" Dray yells at him, while Nev is putting pressure on my cut. "We will deal with i' once we get to the castle." he says, and suddenly everyone in my boat is glaring at the lantern.

"Heads down!" he yells as the first of the students get to the cliff. The boats carry us through a curtain of ivy that also covers a wide opening in the side of the cliff. Then we go through a dark tunnel, and all the while, I am shivering. When we enter the tunnel, it only gets worse. We appear to be going under the castle, and we keep going until we reach a kind of harbor. Then we clamber out onto the rocks and pebbles, and follow the lantern up a passageway until we hit grass. Which is right in front of the castle. We walk up the stairs, then the now-visible gigantic man raises his humongous fist up to the oak doors. Then he knocked three times upon the door.


	3. Sortings, Houses, and Shared Bedrooms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Read the chapter title, and enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for clicking on! Your feedback and/or suggestions are appreciated!

The door swings open at once, showing Minnie. She's still wearing those pretty emerald green dress-like robes. She hid her grandmotherly face, and looked very stern.

""The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," says the gigantic man. "Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here." Minnie says, pulling the doors open wide. The stone walls were lit with torches, their flames dancing in the gigantic entrance hall. The ceiling was too high for me to see, and also too high for me to crane my neck. A blinding marble staircase facing us leads to the upper floors, I think. It should. We all follow Minnie across the stone floor. I can hear the quiet road of many voices from a large pair of doors to my right, where the rest of the school might be, but Minnie brings us to a small, empty chamber breaching off from the hall. 

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Minnie says, keeping an entirely strait face. "The start-of-term banquet will begin after you are sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, you will have a sort of family bond with your House. You will spend your free time in your House common room, dine with your House, and you will share classes with your House. There are four Houses, called Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Each house had produced it's own noble history and it's own outstanding witches and wizards. While at Hogwarts, your triumphs shall earn you House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will win the House Cup, one of the greatest honors a House can receive. I hope each of you will be a credit and assist in getting the House Cup in whichever House Cup that becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest that you straighten yourselves up in that time," Minnie says, then her eyes fall upon me. "Iris Willow Hepley! What in the name of cats happened to you!?" "Ma'am, she was pulled into the lake by a giant squid." Nev explains, and he was still putting pressure onto my wound. "Infectum est, ut siccescat." Minnie day, waving her wand around me. Then the water dries on me. "Tergeo," she says, making all of the blood that has escaped from my wound disappear. "Vulnera Sanentur. Vulnera Sanentur. Vulnera Sanentur." she chants over my wound, then finally, she murmurs "Dittany." 

She steps back away from me, and starts to speak, but can't, for a moment. "Ahem! I shall return to collect you when we are ready. Please wait quietly in the meantime." Minnie says, readjusting herself. "H-how is one sorted into a house?" I quietly ask Dray, and he smiles slightly. "There's an enchanted hat. It can look through you mind, and finds out where you're supposed to go through that." I nod, a bit relieved it wasn't too much. Then suddenly, someone behind us screamed. There were suddenly ghosts streaming through the back wall of the room! They were half-translucent, and pearly white otherwise. I gasp, for even though I've read about it, it's still write a sight to behold. Over twenty ghosts had arranged through the walls, and they just glided across the room and talked to one another, hardly noticing the first years.

"Peeves isn't even a ghost!" I hear the one wearing a ruff and rights say to the monk, right as he glided past me. "I suppose you're all new students and about to be sorted?" the monk asks, and a few people mutely nod. "Move along now, it's time for the Sorting Ceremony to start." Miinie says sharply, having returned as they entered. One after another, they left through the opposite wall they came through. "Now then, form a line," Minnie commands, "and follow me." I am pulled in between Dray and Pan, both of them being protective over me. We walk out of the room, into the Hall again, and through the large doors leading to the Great Hall. I look up, staring at the ceiling and the candles until we stop. "So beautiful..." I trail off, then realize I had spoken aloud. When I next looked down, Minnie had placed a four-legged stool with a leathery and pointed wizard's hat on it in front of us.

Then there was complete silence, as everyone stared at the hat. Then it twitched, and a rip at its brim opened up like a mouth.

And then it began to sing.

Oh you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folks use any means  
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

I stare as it finishes, and every one starts clapping. And it bowed. Minnie then stepped forward holding a long piece of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit upon the stool to be sorted." I looked back up at the ceiling, nervous, yet losing focus. "Hepley, Iris!" I hear her call our my name, and I step up to the the hat. I place it on my head, and it begins its thing. 

"Hmm, very strange. One that's not bred to be in Slytherin wants to be in Slytherin. Very loyal, which is needed in there, but also could be suited in Hufflepuff." I hear a small voice say into my ear. "There is a lot of talent and a cunning and smart mind. Well, you're not going to try and convince me to put you somewhere?" it asks, and I think, 'You've already seen all of my thoughts on the matter, so I think that it would be obvious that I want to be in Slytherin." "I suppose that it would. Definitely best suits you to be in it, and you will get to call Snape Sevie, so it better be SLYTHERIN!!!" It shouts the last word, and I see all of my first-made friends smile in relief at the news while my new house claps. I get down, removing the hat, and I walk to the table. I sit next to our house ghost, the Bloody Baron.

I lose myself in the ceiling again, and I jump when I hear the Baron's voice. "It really is entrancing, isn't it?" he asks, and I nod eagerly. "Y-yes, it really is a beautiful sight. I love h-how it makes the night sky look so c-clear. It's a r-really big d-difference from the smogginess of the c-city." I look around to see every one eating, and all of my friends sitting next to me, excluding Nev of course, I turn around to see him in Hufflepuff. I put a few things onto my plate, and talk to the Baron as I do so. "It's quite h-horrid there. I-I always despised l-living there, but m-my adoptive p-parents made me stay. I'm k-kind of glad that they k-kicked me out of their h-house." "Why did they kick you out of house?" he asks, and I finish chewing before replying. "They d-disapproved of m-magic. I'm a m-muggle born." "Filthy muggle scum. They did not deserve to be informed of it. Before you ask, I do not care any more whether or not you're a pure blood." "Thank y-you. B-by the way, what is y-your n-name? Also, c-could I c-call you by it?" I ask, and he nods. "My name is Waldo. I have forgotten the rest, for it has been so long. You may call me by that name." I smile at him, still a bit nervous. "Thank you, Waldo."

I converse with Waldo for the rest of the feast, and then once I finish eating, I doze off with my eyes open, only to be jolted awake by the deafening roar of students all singing. I ignore it, and wait until it's finished to move. "Ah, music. A magic beyond all that we do here! Now, off to your dorms!" Dumbledore announces, away his eyes. We follow our prefects to the dungeons, which is where our common room and our beds are. "Females to the left passageway, males to the right." A prefect instructs us, and I branch off forwards the left one.  I walk alongside mg until I see my name on a door.

Iris Hepley

Pansy Parkinson

It's just me and Pan, though I don't mind. I enter the room to see my belongings laid out already. Courtesy of the house elves. I hope that they were gentle with my bag of electronics. And my pocky. I did get Minnie to cast a permanent freezing charm in the bag, making it so that the pocky won't melt and meld, but we couldn't brainstorm a way to stop it from breaking while in the bag. I take in the gorgeous silver and green beds, and the desktop next to it.

I start to unpack, and Pan walks in. "What's that?" She points towards my electronics. "It's a m-muggle object. It's called a phone. That's a c-computer, it's also c-called a l-laptop. That's a t-tablet, and that is a kindle. This is a shrunken tele, it will be u-unshrinking soon, these are also shrunken i-items that connect to the t-tele so that you play games on it, these are the actual v-video games, and other things." I lay everything out so that it is placed correctly.

"U-um, I think we are supposed to s-sleep now." I say, almost asking. Pan flops down on my bed, and protests. "Lets go say hi to Dray. You did ignore us throughout the feast. I'm offended, preferring to talk to a frightening ghost rather than us!" Pan teases me. "Sure, let's go say hi to Dray." We walk back to the common room, and look around to see Dray off in a corner, people watching.

We go over to him, me trailing after Pan, and walk up to hiss sides and poke him. He jumps, startled. "Dray, even if it is your favorite hobby, I get the feeling that you would be lost if we were never here to befriend you. Where's the other guys?" Pan asks him, smiling. "They're in our room, snoring away. So, who are you two rooming with?" Dray asks us, and we smile. "Each other. And no one else. Aren't we lucky." She says, smirking. "And n-neither one of us s-snores." Dray gives me a slight glare for that one. I bite my lip, hoping that I didn't mess up already. "Good one, darling. Now, let's go back to our beds and let Dray get back to his *cough* stalking *cough* people watching."

"I did hear that unsubtle cough cough you did!" Dray calls out after us. Pan turns around, smirks, then goes back to leading me away. "Hey, first year!" I hear someone call out, and I wonder if it was meant for me. "The one behind Parkinson!" He shouts again, and I turn around to where I thought of heard the voice. "Professor Snape wants you. Go to his office. Do you know how to get there?" he asks, and I shake my head no. "C-could you l-lead me there, p-please?" I ask, and he smiles slightly. "Of course I will. It's this way." he says, walking out of the common room and leading me through the dungeon. I mark the places that we turned in my head. When he finally stops, we are outside of a doorway.

I knock, and Sevie says, "Come in." I open the door, struggling a bit as it is quite heavy, and the tall make Slytherin helps me. I walk in hesitantly, and peek through my bangs. "Ms. Iris, I do believe I have something of yours," he remarks, and I run through my minds to see if I had forgotten anything. "It is a present from McGonagall. You do remember what she said earlier, correct?" "Y-yes, I remember n-now. Thank y-you Sevie!" I beam at him a bit, and his mouth turns up the tiniest bit at the corner. "Of course, first you might want to know what I'm giving you before thanking me," he says pulling a box with holes out from behind his back. So it's an animal.

"It's adorable, and I'm pretty sure he hates me." Sevie says, and he chuckles a bit at that last part. He gives me the box, and I open it to see an adorable black kitten with blue eyes. "Aww. Look at its paws! They're adorable. You're so adorable. Yes you are, yes you are. Aww. Are you tired? Are you tired? You're yawning, yes you are. You want to crawl on my shoulder? How adorable of you. Look at your little white booties, you're so adorable!" I fawn over my new kitten, and he snuggles into the crook of my shoulder. "Thank you so much!" I say happily, my stutter disappearing in my excitement. Sevie smiles fully at my reaction. "I'm having the elves deliver all of the things needed for your new pet to your room." "Thank you, Sevie! I can't wait for transfiguration, so I can see Minnie!" I beam at everything with happiness.

"I suppose that I could give you permission to go see her now, instead of waiting for tomorrow." My eyes widen. "R-really? Thank you so much!" I walk around his desk and give him a hug. He stiffens, but accepts the hug any way. "Thank you so much, Sevie!" I break off the hug. He then writes me a pass, and sends me off to go attack Minnie with hugs after I put the slip in my pocket.

I walk along the corridor, then I run into someone as I turn the corner. "Oh! I am so s-sorry, sir. I d-didn't think that anyone one w-would be c-coming around this c-corner. I am really s-sorry." I apologize to the man that I had run into. "Student out of bed. Yah hah ha." he cherries, and I realize my predicament. "Oh! I, um, I-I have a slip from S-Sevie. H-h-here it is." I draw the slip out of my pocket to show him. "Hmm. Seems legitimate." He inspects it more, and then I see a cat.

I bend down, and let her sniff my hand. Once it stops, she lets me pet her head. She purrs at my touch, and I melt a little inside. "Good girl, you're such an adorable girl, yes you are." I say to her. Meanwhile, once he finished inspecting my slip, he looked around, then saw me down below petting his cat. He then spoke, startling me a bit. "My name is Argus Filch. You can call me Argus. The lovely little lady that you're petting is Ms. Norris. She only lets certain people pet her, so I suppose that you're alright." He then walks away with Ms. Norris, and I continue going to the Gryffindor quarters to find Minnie.

Once I arrive, I go to the Fat Lady band ask for directions. "Erm, excuse m-me? Where c-can I find M-Minnie's rooms?" I ask, and she points me in the right direction. "Th-thank you very m-much." I thank her, and go to find Minnie.

Once I arrive to where I was told to go, I stop. "M-may I knock on y-you?" I ask the painting, and the person nods. I knock on the painting lightly, and Minnie says, "Come in." The painting swings open, and I step through. I walk over to Minnie, and give her a hug. "Thank you so much for my cat!" I let go of Minnie, and point at the little bundle of floof on my shoulder. "He's so adorable and cute and omigod I just want to cuddle with him forever!" I per him a little bit, and he purrs in his sleep. "I knew that you would like it," she says, smiling at me again. "But you better get back to your dorms now. I will see you tomorrow, during class.

"Okay. Bye Minnie, I can't wait for t-tomorrow!" I say, exiting her office. "Bye, Iris, I can't wait either." she calls out after me, and I wave. "Thank you for letting me knock earlier," I say to the painting. "Thank you for asking." the portrait says back. It closes, smiling at me. I walk back to my common room, and go to my rooms. I read for about an hour, then try and fall asleep. I can't, and I go back out to the common room and read until my eyes shut.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this through. As said before, anything is appreciated. Please tell me if I got something wrong.


	4. Classes, Classes, and a Crazy Case of the Boils

I wake up to Pan shaking me awake. "I didn't see you in bed when I woke up, so I figured that you were down here. Don't worry about the time, we won't be late to breakfast. It's six o'clock, so you better hurry." She rushes our of the common room, and I sleepily trudge up the stairs. I pull on all of my clothing, and make sure I didn't mess up my clothes too badly. I trudge back down the stairs, running my fingers through my hair. I pull it into two very messy pigtails, and exit to the halls. I walk back to the Great Hall, and enter the open doors. I go to sit down with everyone. They smile at me, and I sit down in my seat next to Dray. He holds out his hand for a high five, and I head butt it with my forehead. Then I collapse onto him. He sighs, and starts to pet me. He continues stroking my hair, and I purr, rubbing my head against his hand. "Iris, how late did you stay up exactly?" Pan asks me, and I mumble. "L-late." She smiles at my comment, and Dray continues to make me purr. "Ladies and gentlemen, here we have the half-cat girl!" Pan says, and that earns laughs from all around. Then I see Nev walk over to our table. "H-hi Iris, I was hoping to see you sometime soon. Um, I see that you're enjoying yourself." I nod, purring some more. "Hi b-back at ya. I guess that I'll see you in c-class. We have Herbology t-together." My mind, already memorized what I have. Why wasn't I put in Ravenclaw again? Oh, right, I asked to be put with Dray and Pan. Yay me. "Mmn. That's n-nice. Right there. L-lovely. You're good at p-petting me, Dray." I smile at him, and he continues to pet me. I reach for some of his food, and he doesn't notice. I pull myself off of him reluctantly, and get my own food. "Where's the c-coffee?" I ask, deadpan. "The what?" Dray asks, and I look at him like, 'Seriously?' I repeat myself. "The. Coffee. Where i-is it? My brain n-needs it, or it refuses to s-start. I. Need. M-my. Coffee." Then, right as I finish saying that, a cup of steaming black coffee immediately appears in front of me. I purr, happy. "Just how I l-like it." I whisper into my delicious black perfection. I sip it for a bit, and then gather some foods onto my plate. I scarf down my plate of fish that appeared in front of me, and also had a mug of slightly heated milk with honey in it. "Is that all you're going to eat? Just milk, coffee, and fish?" Dray asks me, and I nod happily. I get a couple of weird looks from everyone for that. "Come on now, it's time for the first class of the day. Joint class with Gryffindor in Potions. Come on." Pan alerts me to the time, and suddenly a travel mug with coffee in it appears for me. "O-okay." I say, pouring the rest of my coffee into the mug. I get up, and walk out with everyone. And my coffee. We hurry back down to the dungeons, and grab all of our stuff for the day. I basically just grab my bottomless bag labeled 'Monday'. Yep. I'm prepared. I sorted all of it last night. And I mean everything. I'm guessing I stayed up til around three a.m. last night. Or would it be this morning? We exit the common room together, and hurry in our little group of six to the classroom. I enter first, and it appears that we're the first ones there. I walk over to Sevie, and glomp him with a hug. He starts, then relaxes once realizing that it was me. "Iris, you have to go to your seat now. It appears that young Mr. Malfoy has saved a seat for you." "S-sevie! Can't I just s-stay up here with y-you?" I ask hopefully. "Not today. maybe another time, after you master this course. And if you get all O's. And only maybe then." "F-fine." I say, disappointed. I walk over to Dray, and sit down. "What was that all about?" he asks me, and I say, "If I get t-top grades, a-all O's, and master this c-course, Sevie might l-let me help him teach s-sometime!" I happily exclaim. Then I look over to Sevie, and beam at him. He gives his faint almost-smile, and I beam even brighter at him. I plop my head on the desk, and wait for class to start. I hear people come in, and then Sevie starts the class. I lift my head up for it. During roll call, he skips over my name, and just moves onto the next one. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. Sevie spoke in barely more than a whisper, but I remained entranced in his speech. I think we all did, honestly. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death-if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." I laugh softly at that, smiling at his joke. I hear two people joking behind me, and I look to see the boy I bumped into in Diagon Alley and a redhead chatting and not paying attention. "Potter! What would i get if i added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" "I have no clue, professor." he sneers the last word out. "Let's try again, then. Where would you look if i told you to find me a bezoar?" he asks, and I smile, recognizing these as the questions he asked me when we first met. "No clue, yet again." "Last chance to redeem yourself. What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" "As said before, professor, I still have no clue." He smirks after finishing. "You shouldn't be talking while I am teaching you then. Ms. Hepley! What are the answers to those questions that I just asked?" he suddenly barks out the last part, and I smile. "Professor Sev, you would get a p-potion so p-powerful that it gets an extremely d-dramatic name, The Draught of Living D-death. As for a b-bezoar, it's a stone found in the s-stomach of a g-goat. It will cure most poisons. For the final question, there is no d-difference, for they are the same things. It is also c-commonly known as a-aconite." I say, answering the questions just as I did on the train, with minor changes. "Very good, Iris," he says, smiling slightly at me."Now, why aren't you all copying this down?!" he thunders at the rest of the class, and a great hurry for quills and parchment is heard. Me, I had already gotten everything out. "Also, five points to Slytherin for the correct answers." I hope that those points won't be taken away. "Today, we will be creating a simple potion. It is a cure for boils." he writes the directions on the board while saying so. He steps back to see Dray already gathering supplies for the potion, and me waiting impatiently. "You chop these, I will add the ingredients." he commands, and I shake my head. "We w-will both do s-so." I say, compromising. He gives in, and we both get to work. We go through these directions, and I make some minor changes. As we finish earlier than the rest, Sevie comes over to us. "I presume that you changed the recipe somewhat?" he asks, and I nod, smiling. "I hope that it is still affective." he says, and Dray nods in confirmation. "Very well then. We will have to see." he says, and just then someone's cauldron pops and twists as it melts. A horrible odor comes from the mixture, and the poor Gryffindor it exploded on starts to turn red and boils erupt from his skin. It trials down into the floor, and the people in that section get up onto their chairs. "May I use your potion? It will be considered your grade." he requests permission to use our potion, and we both nod. He grabs the vial it was in, and gives it to the suffering boy. It works, and the boils immediately go down. Sevie smiles at us, and I beam back. Brightly. The rest of the class looks shocked at Sevie's smile. "Immediate effect. Twenty points to Slytherin. And Iris, you just got a little closer to your goal." My eyes widen in realization, and I feel like jumping through the air! I just got closer to being able to help Sevie teach the 'dunderheads'! I hear people murmuring in the background, questioning what he meant by that. "Silence! Continue on with your potions!" Sevie commands, and casts a cleaning potion over the classroom. "Professor, what do you want us to do now that we're finished with our potion?" Dray asks. "Just relax until your next class." He says, and we begin to do just that. I take out my coffee and my measure books, and by that I mean my shounen ai. I had the cover images blurred. I just relax, enjoying my leftover coffee and rereading my favorite series. Ah, my beloved manga. Sweet, sweet, romance. Then, the bell rings. Time to get to our next class. I exit the classroom after gathering all. of my things, and go onto Transfiguration with Minnie. Yay! I grab onto Dray's arm and Pan's arm, and drag them to her classroom. When we get there, I promptly sit down with Dray again after Pan breaks away to sit with Theo. I wave at Minnie, and she smiles at me. As before, we are the first to arrive to the classroom. I watch as people file into the room and sit down. "Class, this is what one will eventually learn to do." she says, and turns into the adorable tabby cat I saw outside of my window when she first came to get me. "This, however, is one of the most advanced parts of transfiguration. This class is one of the most dangerous classes in the entire school. If one is going to mess around, then you will be booted out of my class immediately and will never be returning." Most of the students nod frantically. Then, two Gryffindor males rush in. Minnie immediately transfigures herself into her animungus form, and stalks up to them. "Fhew, she's not here yet." the redhead says, relieved. Then Minnie transfigures herself back. "Perhaps if I transfigured one of you into a watch, you would be on time." she says, jokingly. It is lost on them. "We're sorry ma'am, we got lost." Red says, scared. "Then would a map suffice?" They shake their heads frantically, then rush to the two open seats in the back. I hear Potter murmur something to Red, mentioning that his name is Ron. "That would be Weasley and Potter. One's poorer than dirt and the other is arrogant enough to rival my entire family." "Dray, y-you shouldn't talk about o-others like that. I-it's unkind and casts a b-bad view on b-both parties i-involved." I say to him, and he looks ashamed. "Fine. Sorry." "It's n-not me that y-you should be a-apologizing to, but i-it's fine now." I say, and he nods yet again. "So, I see she's got you wrapped around her finger? Are you a gold digger or are you and him, 'just friends'?" Potter says, and Weasley looks at him in embarrassment. "We aren't anything that _you_ are implying." Dray says, and I nod. "Not yet anyway." Potter says again, smirking. "Harry, it's time for class. Sit down!" Ron hisses at him, and I smile gratefully at him for distracting Potter and Dray. It would have been like two dominant kittens fighting. Which would have been cute on Dray's part, but Potter's permanent sneer would have ruined his cuteness points. Minnie goes on and on for the notes, and I make sure to copy down everything almost exactly. She does go off and muse for about seven minutes, and I don't copy down that, but then she immediately starts telling us to 'get to it' and 'transfigure this matchstick into a needle'. I start to try and do so, and by the end of the class, me and Dray were the only ones to make any difference to it. Seamus somehow managed to make his matchstick catch on fire. I learned his name when it was shouted as "Seamus, not again!" by one of the Gryffindor girls. We show her our silver and pointy matchstick, and she smiles proudly at me. "Very good, Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Iris. Ten points each to Slytherin for doing such a wonderful job." she awards us, and I beam at her. "T-thank you, Minnie." Dray merely smiles lightly, making me nudge him. "Oh! Erm, thank you professor, for the compliment." he says awkwardly, and a slight pink brushes his cheeks. So cute! He looks very similar to someone. I know he reminds me of someone, I just can't remember wh-"Iris!" I jump, startled. "Y-yes!" I say, noticing that Dray is blushing even more. "What h-happened?" I ask, and Pan smirks a bit. "No~thing" she sings, and I just decide to let it drop. We get out of the classroom, and head to the Great Hall for lunch. Once we arrive, we head over to pour table and sit down. I sit down in between Dray and Pan, and we grab the food. "Where's the t-tuna?" I growl, suddenly hungry. Then it, yet again, appears in front of me. Humming in pleasure, I gather all of the fish that warms my heart. "Yum." "Fish again?" Theo asks, and I stop to look at him. "Yes. What do y-you h-have against my s-seafood?" "Nothing?" he says, squirming under my gaze. I decide that I have had enough fish on my plate, and grab some of the fruit salad. Fish. Fruit. Yum. Yummy. Delicious. Synonyms. Sighs. Fanfics. Nice things. "Iris, you all right over there? You seem to have left the building; at least spirit-wise." "Hnnn." I make a noise, unfocused for a second. "So, I take that as a moderate?" Pan teases slightly, and I blink slowly at her. "Great, now she's using Morse code!" Dray exclaims a bit sarcastically. "N-no. How do y-you even know a-about it?" I ask, and he looks down and mumbles. "No reason." "Anyway, Uncle Sev is actually a star wars fan." he says, trying and actually succeeding at changing the subject. "R-really!" "Wow, I never knew. I thought that he was only interested in Potions."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Maybe if I remind you enough, you'll give me suggestions...

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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